Puzzle Pieces
by FacilisDescensusAverni
Summary: This takes place after the fourth book. Max and the flock have a mission that will test all their bonds, especially Fang. How will they deal? Max X Fang OC X OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Maximum Ride_, James Patterson does. **

_Voice, what are we doing? _I asked irritably.

_You're saving the world._

_Then why are we going to rural Pennsylvania? You said we had mission._

_This is your mission, a small one before the next big step._

_Okay, so what are we doing?_

The voice was silent. Figures. I noticed Fang watching me.

"Voice," was all I said. He nodded. I raised my voice so the entire flock could hear me. "Okay, we're heading southwest to Pennsylvania."

They followed me unquestioningly, but after a few hours Nudge approached me. "Max, can we break, I gotta pee and I'm hungry."

I sighed, "Yeah, I can see a KFC up ahead." We landed in a field behind the fast food place and threw our wind breakers on. I fished out the card my mom had given me last time I'd seen her in Virginia. Ten minutes later we were wolfing down food like we hadn't eaten in days.

"So, why are we going to Pennsylvania?" Ig asked between mouthfuls.

"The voice said we had to go on a mini mission, that was it."

Iggy rolled his eyes and kept eating.

_Go to Kennywood tomorrow, have some fun for a day._

_Kennywood? What's that?_

"We're going to Kennywood tomorrow, Fang can you look up where it is?"

He pulled out his laptop and clicked away on it, after a moment he gave me an odd look. "An amusement park?" He seemed to question me, but then shook his dark head, "Whatever. It's near Pittsburgh, we could get there in about two hours, from here."

The rest of the flock got really excited then. "An amusement park? Like with roller coasters?" Gazzy shouted.

"Ohh, and cotton candy?" Nudge chimed in.

"I want to play the games!" Angel said happily.

I sat back and smiled briefly, it was good to see the flock so happy. But then, of course, the voice had to mess it up for me.

_You're going to have to be on alert tomorrow. And you will need to learn to trust outside your flock, this mission you can't do on your own._

_Great, thanks._

Fang tapped my leg with his foot. I glanced up at him and communicated that everything was ok. The kids didn't seem to notice our exchange because they were currently discussing what foods to get.

"Okay, we should find a place to settle in for the night guys."

"There was an old barn, about a mile back, it looked abandoned, and there were multiple exits."

And that there was the reason Fang was my right hand man.

"Okay, barn it is." I filed the kids out of the KFC and we took off in the field we'd landed in.

Sure enough there was the barn, and it was a decent place to spend a night I supposed. I got the flock settled; we did the hand stacking thing, and Fang offered to take first watch. Just as I was about to sleep the voice told me one last thing that I knew would keep me up all night.

_Keep an eye on Fang; he will need you more than ever pretty soon._


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is short, but it's the start of Fang/ Max. I'll try to post longer chapters from now on. **

_Keep an eye on Fang; he will need you more than ever pretty soon._

I sat immediately after my voice gave its stunning revelation. _What? If one of my flock is in danger, I'm not going!_

_There are dangers everywhere, but no, the flock will be fine. It's all a matter of puzzle pieces falling into place._

I snarled at my voice and went to sit with Fang. He looked up from checking his blog, the blue light from his laptop illuminating his face.

"Hey." I plopped down next to him wearily.

"You should be sleeping, you look exhausted."

"The voice is being annoying." He nodded at me, but still looked concerned. "What's going on in cyber world?" I indicated his computer, effectively getting the attention off me.

"People are really into the speech you gave in DC. They are wondering if we are going to do any follow up stuff anytime soon."

I shrugged, "I dunno, right now the voice says we have something else that takes precedence." I studied Fang's face for a moment, while he gazed at his screen. I realized I'd been doing that more and more lately, and frankly, it scared me.

"Fang?"

He leveled his gaze at me, but he was very still. Something in my tone must have alerted him.

"The voice also told me to keep an eye on you. It insinuated that things were going to get hard. It said, 'It's all a matter of puzzle pieces falling into place.' It didn't explain that of course."

"I can only think of one thing that would be unbearable for me."

I stared, waiting for him to explain himself.

"If we broke up again. But we promised we never would, so I'm not worried." He shrugged in a nonchalance only Fang could possess.

"Yeah, you're right, as long as were all together." My voice trailed off.

"Max." Fang said my name softly. When I looked back at him he cupped the back of my neck and kissed me. It was soft and sweet, much like the time he kissed me on the dock. I kissed him back, adoring the possibility that he loved me back.

Suddenly, it hit me. I was kissing _Fang_! I pulled back and our eyes met for a moment. In a flash, I stood up and paced away from him. I had the fleeting urge to fly, but I realized that I'd run away every time he'd kissed me. I looked at him over my shoulder to see him watching me. I strode back to his side and sat down in the place I'd just vacated.

"God, you must think I'm nuts."

He smiled the smile that could light up a room, "Yeah, but at least I know you love me."

I narrowed my eyes at him, I hated it when he referred to the time I'd gotten my chip out.

He smirked then and turned back to his blog, "Go to sleep, Max."

Stubborn as usual, I watched him navigate his website for a bit, until my eyes grew heavy. I fell asleep eventually, right on Fang's shoulder.

FPOV

Max had kissed me back AND didn't run away, we were making progress. When she had stood up and darted away from me, I'd thought for sure that she was going to bolt. It actually physically hurt, her rejection, but then she'd turned back to me. I almost kissed her again, I was so ecstatic. I didn't want to scare her off, so instead I went for the mocking. That was something she knew how to handle. Now she was asleep on my shoulder and I couldn't help but stare, she was so beautiful, strong, and... pigheaded. She didn't realize how much the flock really needed her, without her we would be totally lost. Even those few weeks that we split up, and she was in Germany, I figured out that I couldn't do what she does. Especially for as long as she's been doing it. I realized it was the end of my watch, but I didn't have the heart to wake her. Eventually, though, I felt my eyes begin to close and I knew I couldn't stay awake any longer.

"Max," I shook her gently. She snapped awake immediately.

"My turn to watch?" She glanced around, "It's lighter outside than it should be."

"I let you sleep longer."

"Fang," She began in her chastising voice.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch; I just wanted more time to work on my blog." I lied. I knew where she was going. She would freak if she ever thought I was protecting her. I knew she wasn't weak, but that didn't mean she should beat herself up all the time. She seemed appeased, however, because her scowl faded and she leaned back against the barn wall.

"Go to sleep, Fang," she ordered. Now that she was up I didn't want to sleep, but I closed my eyes and let my head fall back, I was asleep in minutes.


End file.
